Chapter 163: The Sword Tassel Hidden Danger, the Chivalrous Woman's Edge
Morning dew still clung to the petals of the crabapple blossoms in Shufangzhai, while Xiaoyanzi was already practicing in the courtyard with her longsword. She wore a moon-white outfit, with the lake-blue sword tassel Yongqi had just gifted her tied around her waist. Wherever the sword flashed, the wind whipped up, sending her hair flying. "Ha!" She leaped up, the tip of her sword pointed directly at the pomegranate tree in the courtyard, but suddenly let out a cry as she landed.
The tassel at the end of the sword tassel had been tangled into a knot. Hidden within the smooth silk thread were a few strands of hair-thin silver, gleaming with a cold light. Xiaoyanzi twisted the silver thread between her fingers, her brows raised sharply—the thread was incredibly tough. If it were to get tangled around her wrist during sword practice, at best, her wrist would lose its strength, at worst, the sword would fall out of her hand, and she would be utterly disgraced.
"Why are you practicing swordplay so early in the morning? Be careful not to hurt yourself." Yongqi's voice came from the Moon Gate. He was holding a food box in his hand, and his royal blue dragon robe was stained with dew. It was obvious that he had just come in from outside the palace. Seeing Xiaoyanzi staring at the sword tassel in a daze, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong? Are you not satisfied with the sword tassel?"
Xiaoyanzi held the silver thread close to his eyes and said, "Look at this." The morning light refracted through the silver thread, and Yongqi saw the thread's toughness. His face darkened instantly. "Someone must have tampered with it!" He took the sword and examined the tassel. Suddenly, he felt something hard in the tassel. He took it out and saw that it was a small stone. "If you throw this, it will definitely hit someone in the eye."
Ziwei was sitting by the window sketching patterns. When she heard the noise, she quickly put down her brush and ran out. She almost tripped as her plain skirt swept across the threshold. "What's wrong? What happened?" When she saw the silver thread and the stone clearly, her face turned pale, and her fingers clutching the handkerchief turned white. "Are they coming for us again?"
"Apart from that noble concubine Gao, who else would have the leisure to do this?" Xiaoyanzi slammed her sword onto the stone table, the scabbard making a loud thud. "Yesterday's incident with Shouping hasn't been settled yet, and you dare to use my sword today! Do you think I, Xiaoyanzi, am easy to bully?"
"Shh!" Yongqi quickly covered her mouth, looking around before lowering his voice. "Have you forgotten that I promised the Emperor yesterday that I wouldn't act impulsively?" Seeing Xiaoyanzi turn her face away angrily, he softened his tone and took out an oil-paper bag from the food box. "Don't be angry, I brought you some sweet osmanthus cakes from Jiangnan. They're still warm."
Xiaoyanzi's eyes lit up when she saw the candy cake, but she still stiffened her neck and said, "I won't eat it!" Even so, she sniffed it honestly. Ziwei couldn't help but chuckle at her duplicity and reached out to take the food box. "I'll keep it for you. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
As he was speaking, Xiaodengzi ran in from outside, holding a copy of Journey to the West. His nose was red from running. "Princess! I found out!" He ran so fast that he almost bumped into the door frame. The book in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang", revealing the note stuck inside. "Last night, I saw Nanny Li talking to Xiao Luzi in the corner of the Imperial Garden. Xiao Luzi is... the eunuch who is responsible for cleaning your yard!"
Little Mosquito followed behind, panting, a half-eaten steamed bun clutched in his hand. "Wow! I know that little Luzi. The day before yesterday, he asked me what kind of sword tassel I liked! At that time, I foolishly told him it was lake blue!" He slapped his thigh, and the steamed bun crumbs fell all over him. "I'm going to skin this bastard!"
Xiaoyanzi picked up a piece of paper on the ground. Scribbled on it were the words, "The sword spike has already made its move. Three days from now, at the Lotus Appreciation Banquet at Taiye Lake, she will be embarrassed." She crumpled the paper into a ball, her knuckles turning white. "Lotus Appreciation Banquet? Great! I want to see what tricks she can pull off."
Ziwei looked at the light in her eyes and suddenly remembered something. She pulled her sleeve and whispered, "By the way, the Queen sent someone to deliver a newly made lotus skirt yesterday, saying that it would be perfect to wear to the lotus viewing banquet. Would you like to try it?" She turned and went back to the house to take out a clothes box, opened it, and saw that the aqua green skirt was embroidered with layers of lotus flowers, and there were tiny pearls hanging on the hem, which would make crisp sounds when she walked.
Xiaoyanzi touched the pearls on the hem of her skirt and suddenly smiled: "Wear it! Why not?" Her eyes rolled and she leaned close to Yongqi's ear and whispered a few words, which made Yongqi nod repeatedly. In the end, he couldn't help but scratch her nose: "You, you have so many tricks up your sleeve."
The midday sun shone so brightly that the lotus leaves in Taiye Pond wilt, but the willow trees on the bank remain radiantly green. Little Swallow, wearing a water-green lotus-shaped skirt, tinkled as the hem swept across the bluestone pavement, creating a tinkling sound that drew the passing palace maids' attention. She toyed with the jade pendant Yongqi had given her, then suddenly stopped beneath a willow tree and smiled at Little Luzi behind her, saying, "Little Luzi, pick me the largest lotus leaf! It's too hot."
Xiao Luzi's eyes flickered as he walked slowly to the edge of the pond. Just as he reached out to grab the lotus leaves, he heard Xiaoyanzi suddenly shout, "Watch your step!" He was startled and his foot slipped, and he fell into the pond with a splash, splashing a large amount of water.
"Oh!" Xiaoyanzi clapped her hands in pretended surprise, "Why are you so careless? Pull him out quickly!" When the young eunuchs hurriedly dragged Xiao Luzi ashore, something in his arms fell out - it was a bag of laxatives and a thin tube, which was obviously intended to add something to the tea.
Xiaoyanzi picked up the laxative and shook it, smiling so much that her eyes curved into crescents: "Xiao Luzi, who are you going to give this laxative to?" Xiao Luzi was so scared that his face turned pale. He fell to his knees on the ground, his lips trembling and he couldn't speak.
At that moment, Yongqi arrived with his guards, just in time to witness this scene. He glanced at the laxatives on the ground and said coldly to the guards, "Take him away and investigate who he's been in close contact with." The guards immediately lifted Xiao Luzi up. He cried out, "Princess, spare me!" but was hit in the face by a lotus leaf thrown by Xiao Yanzi. "Remember this next time: be honest and don't always try to hurt others!"
Ziwei stood in the corridor and watched this scene. She couldn't help but whispered to Erkang beside her: "Xiaoyanzi's trick is really..." Before she finished speaking, Erkang held her hand. His eyes were full of tenderness: "We are here, and no one will bully you again." Ziwei blushed, and looked down to see the jade pendant exposed from his sleeve. It was the one she gave him. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise.
As the sun sets, Xiaoyanzi sits on the swing in Shufangzhai, twirling the jade pendant in her hand. Yongqi stands beside her, pushing the swing. Looking at her profile, dyed golden by the setting sun, he suddenly says, "On the day of the Lotus Appreciation Banquet, I will always be by your side."
Little Swallow swung higher, her skirt fluttering like a lotus leaf. "Don't worry, I'm not afraid of her." She suddenly jumped off the swing and ran to the crabapple tree to pick up a fallen leaf. "But I still want to thank you for helping me check on Xiao Luzi."
"Are you still so polite to me?" Yongqi scratched her nose and suddenly took out a small cloth bag from his arms. Inside was a pair of silver bracelets with small lotus flowers engraved on them. "These are for you and Ziwei, wear them for fun." Xiaoyanzi took them and put them on her wrist. The size was just right. She couldn't help but hold them up to look at them. The sunlight filtered through the silver bracelets, casting tiny spots of light on the ground.
Ziwei and Erkang walked over side by side and smiled when they saw the bracelet. Ziwei whispered, "Now Concubine Gao should know that we are not to be trifled with." Erkang nodded and said, "I have someone keeping an eye on Nanny Li. If she dares to do anything again, she will be caught red-handed."
Little Swallow suddenly jumped onto the stone table and raised her bracelet towards the moon: "From today on, our Shufangzhai is an iron wall! No one can bully us!" The wind blew up her skirt, like a blooming lotus, reflecting the sunset in the sky, and it was particularly dazzling.
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